Saturday, May 15, 2010
Malaysian Maverick
The "Malaysian Maverick" is finally out after being scrutinized for ages by the censors. Just couldn't help buying a copy, so I did. And I'm reading it now as I explore the personality of Malaysia's most-revered and feared Prime Minister. Without doubt, Dr. M is the Father of Modern Malaysia but his personality and style have always been a source of endless controversies and awe. But in the hearts of Malaysians, he is still the best PM thus far and quite irreplaceable especially for many who had him as PM for almost all their life.
Renewable Energy Forward
Even a most unexpected country is pushing for renewable energy as seen in this SANA article:
Syrian-Spanish Cooperation in Electricity Generation (SANA)
Malaysia should do more to encourage renewable energy production in the forms of wind, solar or wave energies. There are some incentives to this regard, but not many are aware and efforts are still wanting. Hopefully, more RE will be developed in coming years as normal fossil-fuel depletes.
And some updates of the latest on the electricity industry in Malaysia.. the peak energy demand was above 15,000MW somewhere last week - the highest ever. The reserve margin has dropped and with gas supply remaining uncertain, coal plants are running full steam ahead more often than ever.
Syrian-Spanish Cooperation in Electricity Generation (SANA)
Malaysia should do more to encourage renewable energy production in the forms of wind, solar or wave energies. There are some incentives to this regard, but not many are aware and efforts are still wanting. Hopefully, more RE will be developed in coming years as normal fossil-fuel depletes.
And some updates of the latest on the electricity industry in Malaysia.. the peak energy demand was above 15,000MW somewhere last week - the highest ever. The reserve margin has dropped and with gas supply remaining uncertain, coal plants are running full steam ahead more often than ever.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
More power plants needed
More power plants needed (The Star)
After years of talking about over supply of power, high reserve margin of more than 40%, finally Malaysia realizes that our power generation capacity is not as high as earlier thought. In fact, our reserve margin will dip below 20% in a couple of years time, particularly when the first generation IPPs have their PPAs coming to an end.
There is no doubt, that planting up of new plants would be a necessity soon. But given the high cost (we are talking about billions), the planning required, issues of subsidy and the messy power industry setup, I wonder how long will it take for new plants to come online. That gas supply in Malaysia is insufficient is another cause of concern. Gas curtailments are almost becoming a normal affair - ask anyone who's familiar the gas industry especially in the southern region. And it all stems from the government's poor response to the gas subsidy issues and prolonged artificial suppression of the real cost of generating electricity. This has put Malaysians in a precarious situation and put TNB in a fix. We are simply not selling electricity at the real cost of producing it! On the other hand, with Malaysia caught in the 'middle income trap' (I'd rather call it low-income trap), how can the real cost be passed through without a political backlash?
So I think, the government has to really think about how it wants to restructure the energy industry for the long-term sustainability of it. Enough of politicking, short-term solutions and vote-buying tactics. If the government doesn't act soon, the reserve margin will drop to 20% and below. And in case you don't know what that means... revisit the days of nationwide black-outs in the 1990s! And I don't know where I'm going to hide if that happens again cause I've been quite confidently telling people that the days of national blackout is quite over coz TNB has in place a much more sophisticated system to handle such emergencies! Lets see....
After years of talking about over supply of power, high reserve margin of more than 40%, finally Malaysia realizes that our power generation capacity is not as high as earlier thought. In fact, our reserve margin will dip below 20% in a couple of years time, particularly when the first generation IPPs have their PPAs coming to an end.
There is no doubt, that planting up of new plants would be a necessity soon. But given the high cost (we are talking about billions), the planning required, issues of subsidy and the messy power industry setup, I wonder how long will it take for new plants to come online. That gas supply in Malaysia is insufficient is another cause of concern. Gas curtailments are almost becoming a normal affair - ask anyone who's familiar the gas industry especially in the southern region. And it all stems from the government's poor response to the gas subsidy issues and prolonged artificial suppression of the real cost of generating electricity. This has put Malaysians in a precarious situation and put TNB in a fix. We are simply not selling electricity at the real cost of producing it! On the other hand, with Malaysia caught in the 'middle income trap' (I'd rather call it low-income trap), how can the real cost be passed through without a political backlash?
So I think, the government has to really think about how it wants to restructure the energy industry for the long-term sustainability of it. Enough of politicking, short-term solutions and vote-buying tactics. If the government doesn't act soon, the reserve margin will drop to 20% and below. And in case you don't know what that means... revisit the days of nationwide black-outs in the 1990s! And I don't know where I'm going to hide if that happens again cause I've been quite confidently telling people that the days of national blackout is quite over coz TNB has in place a much more sophisticated system to handle such emergencies! Lets see....
Crappy Charts
Some crappy charts you find in a Siemens site office, deep in the interior of Syria...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Govt gives go-ahead for nuclear power plant by 2021
Govt gives go-ahead for nuclear power plant by 2021 (The Star)
Saw this interesting news just a moment ago. I could imagine the sound of protest that would be coming from the opposition and environmentalist.
Personally, I quite like this. Malaysia's power generation industry is in a mess mainly due to political reasons. Natural gas is running out and soon we'll need to buy gas from the open market at market price. Coal is imported. With price of oil looks set to increase, the cost of generating electricity will have to go up. And although the rakyat doesn't like it, the cost of electricity delivered to our homes will also have to increase sooner or later. It's simply economics. You can't expect TNB to swallow all the bitter pill, while you keep your A/C running 24/7!
Having said that, nuclear energy is not really so unsafe as what most people think. The reliability and safety standards of nuclear plants are quite high (well maybe not in Iran or North Korea). The biggest problem is how the nuclear waste would be dealt with. Nobody has yet have any concrete solutions for a sustainable method to handle the waste. And nuclear fuel is not renewable, i.e. it will also deplete like oil at some point of time. I've read somewhere that in fact, nuclear fuel available nowadays are less rich and not of the best quality. So I don't really know how long this industry can last. Nevertheless, I look forward to a nuclear power plant in Malaysia. Looks kinda interesting.
Saw this interesting news just a moment ago. I could imagine the sound of protest that would be coming from the opposition and environmentalist.
Personally, I quite like this. Malaysia's power generation industry is in a mess mainly due to political reasons. Natural gas is running out and soon we'll need to buy gas from the open market at market price. Coal is imported. With price of oil looks set to increase, the cost of generating electricity will have to go up. And although the rakyat doesn't like it, the cost of electricity delivered to our homes will also have to increase sooner or later. It's simply economics. You can't expect TNB to swallow all the bitter pill, while you keep your A/C running 24/7!
Having said that, nuclear energy is not really so unsafe as what most people think. The reliability and safety standards of nuclear plants are quite high (well maybe not in Iran or North Korea). The biggest problem is how the nuclear waste would be dealt with. Nobody has yet have any concrete solutions for a sustainable method to handle the waste. And nuclear fuel is not renewable, i.e. it will also deplete like oil at some point of time. I've read somewhere that in fact, nuclear fuel available nowadays are less rich and not of the best quality. So I don't really know how long this industry can last. Nevertheless, I look forward to a nuclear power plant in Malaysia. Looks kinda interesting.